


The Devil You Know

by sevenall



Series: Mercy Street [5]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Mercy Street AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-06-03 19:20:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6623065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sevenall/pseuds/sevenall
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She wouldn't normally do this kind of thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Devil You Know

Hanaya was a gift. Nanao's mother never told her, but it takes no more than simple math to figure it out. A geisha's salary, a daughter and the tea-house. Someone made up the difference and Nanao has a pretty good idea of who. His name is Nobimaru Itou, businessman and highly positioned in the Arrancar. What else he might be and whatever he might have been to her mother, except patron, is useless to speculate about.

In the past, Nanao's mother always attended him herself, occasionally with one or two of the girls to assist. After her mother died, Nanao thought his visits might stop, but she was wrong. Though he doesn't request her company specifically, she clears her schedule for him, and honours his parties with her presence as her mother did before her. This is partly out of a sense of obligation, but also because she is reluctant to expose her girls to the man and those he brings with him. And she has declined to exchange information with him many times, knowing that any trade would eventually bankrupt her.

These days, Itou-sama makes his reservations by courier, but Nanao still has his office number in her old Rolodex, written on the back of another card under D. She wouldn't call it unless she had no other choice, but the hours tick by, nothing else surfaces and if she has to fight down desperation, she cannot imagine how Shunsui must be feeling. She makes the call.

A few clicks and beeps later, Itou picks up.

"Ah, Ise-san," he greets her. "How may I be of service to you?"

Itou has impeccable manners and his tone is perfectly polite, but he is mocking her. He must be.

"Itou-sama," she says. "Please forgive my being so forward. I was hoping to discuss the term of the trade that was proposed to me last Thursday."

One more click and Nanao is certain that the call is being recorded as well as monitored.

"If my memory serves correctly, you were less enthusiastic a week ago." Itou's voice is level. "What occurred to change your mind?"

What occurred, indeed. Hirako Shinji did.

"The thought that perhaps some of your assets would be of benefit to me after all," she says coolly. "For the right price, naturally."

"Is that so?" Itou sounds amused now. "It would have nothing to do with your...friend, being in trouble, Ise-san?"

Nanao 's blood freezes in her veins. Of course he knows. If she's heard rumours, and she's small fry compared to him, he would know. Her negotiation position just crumbled to dust. But, she thinks, he said 'friend', not 'friends'. The word must be out about Shunsui, but not Jyuushirou. Yet.

"My friend," and she is careful not to slip and say 'friends', "is very precious to me. Does not the poet say 'Oh, go and ask this river running to the east, If it can travel farther than a friend's love!'"

"I can appreciate your sentiments, Ise-san," Itou says and she can imagine the slow nod. "Yes, I can appreciate them. Li Po has authored some of my favourite poems. But my price has gone up since Thursday, I'm afraid."

This was expected. Nanao makes a rapid calculation in her head. Hanaya brings in a substantial amount of money each month, but tends to swallow it again. Were she to walk away today, she would not have enough money in her savings account to retire. She needs to work harder, save more money. Hanaya is truly a gilded cage. But she is fairly certain that she can meet his price.

"Name it."

There is a pause. Possibly, he is speaking to someone on the other line.

"In addition to the monetary recompense; Umeko Iwashita," he says at last. "One of my subordinates has taken a liking to her and wishes to court her."

One of her most talented girls, beautiful and accomplished. The request to become patron to one of the girls is not uncommon and a wish to court Umeko is harmless enough, only this can not be all there is to it. But what else can she do?

"Hanaya is not a whore-house," she says with calculated crudeness.

It's the bird fluttering helplessly in the trap and Itou's laughter tells her that he's as aware of that as she is.

"Ise-san, such language!" he chides her. "Indeed, Hanaya is not, what did you call it, a whore-house. If it were, I would not support his suit. The young man is from a good family and I would like to see him settled. The same as you want for your girls, I presume. Now, will you give me your promise to encourage the girl's feelings towards him?"

If she refuses, Itou will take Umeko anyway to demonstrate his power, and Shunsui will be no better off.

"She will come to no harm," Nanao says, knowing that Itou's word of honour means nothing at all.

Itou laughs again.

"Why, so suspicious, Ise-san! Can it be possible that you doubt my good intentions towards Umeko-chan?"

Nanao doesn't dignify that with a response.

"Very well," Itou says, amusement still clear in his voice. "I will send one of my trusted subordinates to make the reservation within the hour. He will bring the documents you need to help your friend, for now. If there is nothing else?"

There is not. She'll speak to Umeko about an unknown admirer having revealed himself. She'll spin the tale so well thay she could almost persuade herself it's true -- and hope it doesn't end with a dead girl in an alley come morning.

"Thank you, Itou-sama," she says and waits on the line for him to hang up on her.

FIN


End file.
